14 DAY TRIAL // With Steve Jobs posting an open message on the company's web site regarding Apple's efforts to stay green, Greenpeace acknowledged that the internal cables in new MacBooks now contain no PVC. Still, the organization wants Apple to apply this across the whole notebook, not just the cables. Apple, for its part, promised that its entire product line would be completely PVC free by the end of the year.
“By far the most significant announcement that will resonate within the industry is fact that Apple is on course to be completely PVC and BFR free across in product range by end 2008,” says Greenpeace on the organization's blog. “This will be a first for a computer maker and lays down the challenge to competitors such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Toshiba. All have pledged to remove these chemicals from PCs in 2009. But if Apple has solved the challenges involved there's no excuse for any of these companies not to follow Apple's lead on toxic chemicals elimination now and not wait until the end of 2009.”
The organization adds that Apple's accelerated recycling rate and disclosure on the company's carbon footprint ”should ensure [that] Apple's score increases in our next version of the Guide to Greener Electronics”. Greenpeace first released its 'Guide to Greener Electronics' in August 2006. The guide ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TVs and gaming consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change. On the Greenpeace chart of companies that are doing something to lower their impact on the environment, Apple ranks 4.1 (still in the red zone) out of a maximum 10 points. Nokia leads the way with 7 points.
“While Apple, and other top electronic companies, still face many challenges on the road to truly green electronics, it can only be a good thing to see a top CEO and high profile a public figure as Steve Jobs devoting significant time to environmental concerns at Apple,” Greenpeace concluded.